Helen of Troy Ltd. rejected a $37-a-share cash takeover proposal from Empower Brands, the household-products company owned by Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. and Oaktree Capital Management, setting up a public contest over the maker of OXO kitchen tools and Hydro Flask bottles.
Empower Brands disclosed the offer Wednesday, saying it values Helen of Troy at about $1.6 billion including debt. The price is 28% above the stock’s Oct. 30 close and 31% above its 30-day volume-weighted average. Empower, whose brands include Remington, Black+Decker small appliances and George Foreman grills, already owns about 4.5% of the company. Within hours, Helen of Troy said its board had unanimously turned the proposal down as substantially undervaluing the business.
Months of private approaches
Empower said it first offered $34 a share in August and raised the bid to $37 in October after a rejection. It said Helen of Troy then insisted on a confidentiality agreement that would have barred Empower from publicizing its interest, which it refused. The bidder said the deal would carry no financing condition, funded by cash, new equity from Spectrum Brands and Oaktree and third-party debt that wouldn’t be backed by Spectrum. It also argued Helen of Troy’s stock had lost 87% over five years.
Helen of Troy countered that the approach was timed to exploit a slump tied to tariffs and that its turnaround under Chief Executive Scott Uzzell, appointed in September 2025, is working. The El Paso, Texas, company cited raised guidance, a stock up about 67% in its fiscal year to date, and roughly $244 million of debt reduction over 18 months, bringing total debt to $673 million. It said it had offered a standard nondisclosure agreement that Empower declined.
The fight mirrors other recent cases of bidders taking rejected offers straight to shareholders, including Foodtastic’s pursuit of MTY Food Group. UBS and Davis Polk advise Empower; BofA Securities and Baker McKenzie advise Helen of Troy.
